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Important CPS Themes
• Emphasis is on solving problems rather than on
extinguishing or replacing behaviors
• Problem solving is collaborative rather than unilateral
• Understanding comes before helping…indeed,
understanding is the most important part of helping
Most Important Theme: CPS Philosophy
Kids do well if they can
If they’re not doing well,
we adults need to figure out why,
so we can help.
Important Questions
Why are challenging kids challenging?
When are challenging kids challenging?
What are we going to do differently now that we know
why challenging kids are challenging?
A less important question:
What do challenging kids do when they’re
challenging?
Traditional Answer to Why?:
Challenging Behavior Is Working
Because of passive, permissive, inconsistent,
noncontingent parenting, the kid has learned that
challenging behavior is an effective means of getting
something (e.g., attention) or escaping or avoiding
something (e.g., homework).
“First pass” definition of function: It’s working
(Leads to interventions aimed at ensuring that kids
have the incentive to do well)
DON’T STOP AT “WORKING”!!!
Important Questions
If the kid had the skills to go about getting, escaping,
and avoiding in an adaptive fashion, then why would
be getting, escaping, and avoiding in such a
maladaptive fashion?
Doesn’t the fact that the kid is getting, escaping, and
avoiding in a maladaptive fashion suggest that he
doesn’t have the skills to go about getting, escaping,
and avoiding in an adaptive fashion?
We all get, escape, and avoid.
Mantra
Doing well is always preferable
to not doing well
(prerequisite: skills)
Unconventional Answer to Why?:
Challenging Kids are Lacking Skills
Challenging kids are challenging because they’re
lacking the skills not to be challenging…they are
delayed in the development of crucial cognitive skills,
such as flexibility/ adaptability, frustration tolerance,
and problem-solving.
“Second pass” definition of function: challenging
behavior communicates that the kid doesn’t have the
skills to respond to problems more adaptively
(Leads to interventions aimed at solving problems
and teaching lagging cognitive skills)
Evidence for the Association Between
Lagging Skills and Challenging Behavior
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Executive skills
Language processing skills
Emotion regulation skills
Cognitive flexibility skills
Social skills
Unconventional Answer to When?:
The Clash of the Two Forces
Challenging episodes occur when the cognitive
demands being placed upon a person outstrip the
person’s capacity to respond adaptively (best
conceived as “incompatibility episodes”).
Lagging
Skills
Demands of
Environment
When in a Child’s Development Do
Incompatibility Episodes Begin to Emerge?
When incompatibility between the child’s characteristics
(i.e., skills) and characteristics of the environment (i.e.,
demands) starts to emerge.
Lagging
Skills
Demands of
Environment
The Clash of the Two Forces
Unsolved Problems: the specific conditions in which
the demands being placed upon a person exceed the
person’s capacity to respond adaptively
Unsolved Problems
Lagging
Skills
Demands of
Environment
Mantra
Every incompatibility episode involves
a lagging skill and a demand for that
skill (an unsolved problem)
The Little What?:
The Spectrum of Looking Bad: a person
may exhibit any of a variety of challenging
behaviors when the clash of forces occurs,
distinguished primarily by their severity
Implementing CPS: Roles and Goals
- Lenses come first:
- Identify lagging skills
- Get organized:
- Identify unsolved problems
- Create mechanisms for communication and proactive
intervention
- Get busy:
- Solve problems and simultaneously teach skills
Lenses and Organization:
Lagging Skills and Unsolved Problems
How are all these lagging skills
and unsolved problems assessed?
The Assessment of Lagging Skills
and Unsolved Problems (ALSUP)
• The ALSUP is meant to be used as a discussion guide for
achieving a consensus - not simply a checklist or
mechanism for quantifying (quantification comes in third)
• The ALSUP helps caregivers focus on things they can
actually do something about (if we only focus on things we
can’t do anything about, we are likely to come to the
conclusion that we can’t do anything to help)
• We’re looking to avoid the “correlation equals causation
error”
• Theories, hypotheses, and story-telling do not move the
process forward
Using the ALSUP
• One section contains a representative list of the skills
frequently found lagging in challenging kids
• Middle section is where unsolved problems are identified
• Goal is to have a meaningful (not perfunctory) discussion
about the degree to which each lagging skill applies to a
particular child (don’t just check and move on), along with
the unsolved problems associated with the lagging skills
– Discussion of a kid’s strengths isn’t a bad idea, though
it’s lagging skills that typically lead to a more
compassionate understanding of the kid’s difficulties
• Unsolved problems are examples of times when a child’s
lagging skills are making it difficult to respond adaptively to
specific demands…the conditions in which the behaviors are
occurring (typically, difficulty with a particular expectation)
– Often start with “Difficulty…” and then the expectation the
child is having difficulty meeting
Using the ALSUP:
Strategies for Identifying Unsolved Problems
Unsolved Problems should be:
• Behavior-free
• Theory-free
• Split, not clumped
• Specific (who, what, where, when…not WHY)
Other strategies:
• Ask the kid (and other caregivers)
• Stories of incompatibility episodes
• embedded within every story of a incompatibility episode is the
unsolved problem that set the episode in motion
• adults tend to start at the end of the story, so they may need to
rewind the tape
Using the ALSUP
• Expect light bulbs to go on and “Wow” moments to occur
– When caregivers come to recognize that a kid is, indeed,
lacking many skills
– When caregivers come to recognize why prior interventions
have been ineffective
– When caregivers begin to regret the manner in which they’ve
been interacting with a kid based on incorrect assumptions
– When caregivers become aware that unsolved problems occur
under highly specific conditions
– When caregivers recognize that unsolved problems can be
solved proactively
– When caregivers begin pondering how they’re going to create
mechanisms for changing practices given what they now know
about a kid’s difficulties
Lagging Skills + Unsolved Problems:
INCOMPATIBILITY EPISODES
ARE HIGHLY PREDICTABLE
– that means we can intervene proactively
- “predictable” doesn’t mean every time…it means
that an unsolved problem heightens the
likelihood of an incompatibility episode
Next Goal: Prioritizing
- You can’t work on everything at once
- Focus on the “big fish” first
– Severity: those unsolved problems contributing to the kid’s
worst moments or safety issues?
– Frequency: those unsolved problems contributing to
incompatibility episodes most often?
Keeping Track: The Plan B Flowchart
- Specify high-priority unsolved problems
- Designate person primarily responsible for solving
the problem with the child
- Follow the remaining sequence to a successful
resolution
- Add new unsolved problems as old ones are solved
Three Options
(Common Approaches to Handling
Unsolved Problems)
Plan A: Unilateral problem solving
(imposition of adult will, often accompanied by adultimposed consequences)
Plan B: Collaborative Problem Solving
Plan C: Drop it for now (prioritizing)
Three Options
(Common Approaches to Handling
Unsolved Problems)
Plan A: Unilateral problem solving
(imposition of adult will)
- “I’ve decided…”
Plan A causes incompatibility episodes in challenging kids
Plan A provides no information whatsoever about the factors
making it difficult for the kid to meet a given expectation…
solutions arrived at through Plan A are “uninformed
solutions”
Get Busy:
Timing is Everything
INCOMPATIBILITY EPISODES ARE
HIGHLY PREDICTABLE
Crisis Management: Intervention is reactive and
occurs emergently, in the heat of the moment
Crisis Prevention: Intervention is planned and
occurs proactively, well before highly
predictable incompatibility episodes occur
again
Question is not “What should I do when…?” but
rather “What should I do before…?”
Three Options
(Common Approaches to Handling
Unsolved Problems)
Plan C: Drop it for now (prioritizing)
- Emergency C: “OK”
- Proactive C: an agreed-upon interim plan
for tabling the problem for now
Dropping expectations (even temporarily) can be
hard!
Three Options
(Common Approaches to Handling
Unsolved Problems)
Plan B: Collaborative Problem Solving
- Emergency B: more useful for de-escalation
(durably solving problems isn’t likely in the
heat of the moment)
- Proactive B: more useful for working toward
durable solutions (creating TIME)
Get Busy:
Entry Steps for Plan B
1. Empathy
2. Define the Problem
3. Invitation
Get Busy:
Empathy Step of Plan B
Fundamentally Simple Part:
The goal of the Empathy step is to gather information so as to achieve
the clearest possible understanding of the kid’s concern or perspective
on a given unsolved problem
What’s Hard:
The Empathy step begins with the words “I’ve noticed that”, followed by
an unsolved problems and an initial inquiry (“What’s up?”)
- Key Themes:
- Proactive
- Specific
- Neutral
- Theory-Free
- Behavior-Free
- Split, not Clumped
Get Busy:
Empathy Step of Plan B
Also Hard:
What happens after “What’s up?”
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The kid says something
The kid says nothing
The kid says “I don’t know”
The kid says, “I don’t have a problem with that”
The kids says, “I don’t want to talk about it”
The kid responds defensively (“I don’t have to talk to you!”)
Empathy Step (cont.):
The Kid Says Something
Drilling for Information is Really Hard:
- Key Theme: Don’t run with the first thing the kid says
- Here are some strategies:
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Asking about the who, what, where, and when of the unsolved
problem
Asking about why the problem occurs under some conditions and
not others
Breaking the problem down into its component parts
Asking the kid what s/he’s thinking in the midst of the unsolved
problem (more important than feeling)
Reflective listening and clarifying statements (“How so?” “I don’t
quite understand” “I’m confused” “Can you say more about that?”
“What do you mean?”
- Getting to your “aha” moment is hard…don’t be a genius
Empathy Step (cont.):
The Kid Says Something
Also Hard:
– What you’re thinking: “What don’t I understand yet about
his/her concern or perspective? What part of the picture is
still incomplete? What do I need to ask next so that I
understand it better?
• You shouldn’t be thinking about solutions yet
• The Empathy step is a “Solution-Free Zone”
– Remember, “drilling” isn’t “grilling”…it involves “listening,” not
“lessoning” or “lessening” (dismissing, trumping)
– Stay neutral, non-defensive throughout
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suspend your emotional response…the Empathy step isn’t about you
– Don’t rush
• the Empathy step is not a mechanical formality…you’re really curious…you really
want to know!
– You’re not ready to leave the Empathy step until you have a clear
understanding of the kid’s concern or perspective
Empathy Step (cont.):
He Didn’t Talk: I Don’t Know/Silence
What to Do:
- Don’t freak
- Keep drilling
If He’s Still Not Talking, Figure out Why:
- You used Plan A or Emergency Plan B instead of Proactive Plan B
- The observation wasn’t neutral…or specific
- He doesn’t trust you and/or the process yet (he has a lot of experience with
Plan A)
- He really doesn’t know
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Maybe he’s never thought about it before
Maybe you’ve never asked before
Maybe he hasn’t thought about his concerns for a very long time
- He needs the problem broken down into its component parts
- He needs time to think (better get comfortable with silence)
- He’s having difficulty putting his thoughts into words
What If He’s STILL Not Talking?
- Educated guessing/hypothesis testing
Empathy Step (cont.):
Other Patterns After “What’s Up?”
- “I don’t have a problem with that”
- that’s the beginning of his concern or perspective…start
drilling!
- “I don’t want to talk about it”
- he probably has a good reason…we need to respect that
- sometimes kids need permission not to talk
- don’t do anything today that will reduce the likelihood of
the kid talking to you tomorrow
- Defensiveness (“I don’t have to talk to you!”)
- he may need reassurance that you’re not using Plan A
- “I’m not telling you what to do”
- “You’re not in trouble”
- “I’m not mad at you”
- “I’m just trying to understand”
Get Busy: The Define the Problem Step
Fundamentally Simple Part:
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The goal of this step is to ensure that the adult’s concern or
perspective is entered into consideration (possibly beginning
with, “The thing is…” or “My concern is…”)
What’s Hard:
Adults frequently don’t know what their concerns are (though they
do often know what their solutions are)
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Adult concerns typically fall into one of two categories:
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How the problem is affecting the kid (e.g., health, safety,
learning)
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How the problem is affecting others (e.g., health, safety,
learning)
The Define the Problem step is a Solution-Free Zone, too
What’s the score? The first two steps are reserved exclusively for
concerns
Get Busy: The Define the Problem Step
Also Hard:
• Sometimes there are two solutions instead of two concerns on
the table at the end of this step
– that’s a power struggle (a win/lose proposition)
– Collaborative Problem Solving is a win/win proposition
• Some kids say they “don’t care” about your concern
What you’re thinking: “Have I clearly articulated my concerns?
Does the kid understand what I’ve said?”
Get Busy: The Invitation Step
Fundamentally Simple Part:
Goal of this step is to brainstorm solutions that will address the
concerns of both parties
– Lets the kid know this is something you’re doing with him rather
than to him
What’s Hard:
– Proving to the kid that you’re as invested in getting his
concern addressed as you are in getting your own concern
addressed
– The wording is hard:
• Should recap two concerns so as to summarize the problem to
be solved (Starts with: “I wonder if there’s a way…”)
• The kid is given the first opportunity to generate solutions (“Do
you have any ideas?”), but resolution of the problem is a team
effort (collaborative)
The Invitation Step (cont.)
• Not being a genius is hard
- you don’t know where the plane is landing
- don’t “embed” solutions in the Invitation!
• Coming up with a good solution is hard
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A good solution meets two criteria
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Realistic
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Mutually Satisfactory
• Goal is to come up with a solution so the problem doesn’t come
up again…not to come up with a solution for what to do in the
heat of the moment when the problem recurs
The Invitation Step (cont.)
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What you’re thinking:
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Early: “Have I summarized both concerns accurately?
Later: “Have we truly considered whether both parties can do
what they’re about to agree to? Does the solution truly address
the concerns of both parties?”
Prior to Signing Off: “What’s my estimate of the odds of this
solution working?” (if the odds are below 60-70 percent, figure out
why and modify/refine the solution or continue brainstorming)
The Invitation ends with an agreement to return to Plan B if the
first solution doesn’t stand the test of time
You’re Ready!
Additional Pointers
- Solving problems tends to be incremental
- The first solution seldom solves the problem durably…most
problems require more than one discussion
- Solutions that don’t stand the test of time:
- weren’t as realistic and mutually satisfactory as first thought
- didn’t address concerns that hadn’t yet been identified
- Your first Plan B: just do the Empathy step (save the next two
ingredients for the next day)
- You don’t get good at Plan B without practicing Plan B (the first
20 are for practice)
How are the Skills Trained?
Mostly Indirectly
- By collaboratively solving the problems associated with a given
lagging skill, you’re simultaneously (but indirectly) training that
skill
- Some skills can be trained directly
- some social skills
- language processing/communication skills
- But there really isn’t a technology for teaching (directly) most of
the lagging skills on the ALSUP
Get Busy: Front-Loading Key Elements
(embedding, not tasting)
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Leadership commitment (to time, continuity, participation)
Formation of Core Group/CPS Team to ensure that structures that
support CPS are in place before full-scale implementation
– Game plan/timeline/benchmarks (helps ward off
“implementation dip”)
– Establishing goals for dramatic reductions in detention,
suspension, restraint, seclusion
– Integration of paperwork (ALSUP, Plan B Flowchart) into
existing systems
– Creation of new mechanisms for communication, follow-up
– Commitment to proactive intervention; debriefing
– Tracking/monitoring systems, data collection
– Creation of mechanisms for spreading, training, coaching
Spreading to entire facility (staff development)
Helping those who are having trouble
Revisiting/revising existing policies/procedures
Is Plan B Relevant for Kids with Very Limited
Communication Skills?
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Reference point is infants
– Identifying unsolved problems (requires excellent observational
skills)
– Identifying concerns
– Collaborating on solutions
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Important Questions:
– How is the child communicating now? Can we build on them?
– Are there ways to help the child communicate more easily
(pictures)?
– Which component of solving problems are we trying to help the
child communicate about right now?
Medication?
1. What does medication treat well? What does
medication not treat well?
2. Does the kid present with any issues that
medication would be expected to treat well?
- inattention/disorganized thinking
- hyperactivity-impulsivity
- irritability/obsessiveness
- extremely short fuse
- general anxiety
- sleep
- tics
Additional Information/Resources
www.livesinthebalance.org
Advocacy/support/Care Packages/Bill of Rights
Action Plan B
Web-based radio programs/Listening Library
Streaming video
www.cpsconnection.com
Advanced and certification trainings
www.cpsinitiative.com
Consultation
CPS Store